Archived DiscussionThis discussion is archived and locked for postingSee active discussions on November 2010 Babies

p

too much foremilk = green poop

partyofsix6 wrote:

So now Im worried. BF'ing has been going great. Its been a dream actually. Until I read something tonight and then changed my babies diaper and saw that it was green not the yellow seedy mustard that it normally is. Im worried. If it were not for the green poop I wouldnt even know there is a problem....maybe there isnt even a problem. Maybe it was just one feeding that was nothing but foremilk. She is satisfied and she is not cranky or gassy or ill in any way. She sleeps for long periods of time and wakes up to eat a good amount. I pump and give her about 2 bottles a day. Those two bottles are usually about 2.5-3 ounces so I can assume that is what she takes from me when we nurse every 3 hours. That is a pretty normal amount for her age.

So, should I be worried that I saw a green poopy diaper? Should I wait and see if the next poopy diaper is green or back to normal? She has plenty of wet diapers. My DH thinks I am crazy, but he doesnt understand that there are two different types of milk and they serve two different purposes.

I am totally new to all of this BF'ing and foremilk/hindmilk stuff.

Im going to post this on the breastfeeding board so if you see it over there as a repeat just over look me.

Google Dr. Jay Gordon and the Color of the Day. It's a good article that breaks down newborn poop. I'm going through something similar. DD's poop is a yellow-green mix, but according to the article that's ok. I think it depends how green it is. Is your LO's poo frothy? That's an indication there could be a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance.

What you eat can also affect poop color. I wouldn't worry unless you see consistent green poop. My son would only nurse for 5 minutes the first three months of his life. His poops were always green. He eventually corrected the problem himself.

My LO is pooping green and I used to worry about the foremilk/hindmilk, but she nurses almost an hour on one side only at each feeding and still has green some diapers. Some of it's what you eat, I can't believe my LO is not getting enough hindmilk as long and often as she eats, so I have to trust her weight gain (24 oz in 2 wks!) and diaper counts to know she's doing well. but I usually find something new to worry about daily so this ones always on the list..

I have this issue- if your baby is healthy, happy and gaining weight- don't stress about it too much! If you have oversupply- blocking feeding is a good tool. Offer the same breast a couple feedings in a row. I had to block feed in 6 hour increments for a few days to get my milk supply under control. Now the diapers range from greenish yellow- to green but I don't get concerned unless she seems really fussy. In our experience too much foremilk also equaled a gassy baby- poor thing! kellymom.com has some great resources regarding this and The Leaky Boob on facebook is also good! Don't start freaking out- it's fairly minor and easy to correct if it really becomes an issue. And one green diaper isn't an issue. :)

I am going through this, too. I recently switched to one side feeding now that LO is a more efficient eater but there's still plenty of green. I feel like it's high drama every diaper change! My latest theory is that it's yellow after I get some good rest and green later in the day and the first part of the night when I'm exhausted. I read all about lactose overload and it sounded exactly like what is happening.

We have oversupply and green poos about 50% of the time, I only feed one boob to help and it does seem to work. We also had a scary bout of green poos when LO was a week old the were bright green and mucus like and LO had a slight fever this was due to a tummy bug he was also power vomiting.

l

lcmurphy418

www.kellymom.com is an excellent resource to check out. There is an article about foremilk vs. hindmilk that I found helpful.

Some people have posted some really great articles here to check out. I suffer from oversupply and discovered it when my LO had a diaper full of only green poop. I have to block feed in 4 hr increments. I assume I produce about 1.5oz of foremilk before my hindmilk comes in. If you are suffering from oversupply this could be a problem as well. If you produce more milk, the ratio of foremilk/hindmilk increases as well (ex. instead of .5oz foremilk and 2oz hindmilk your may be at 1oz foremilk and 4oz hindmilk.) This means your LO will have to suck longer on one breast to get the to the good stuff, hence the block feeding. I wouldn't worry unless it keeps up as others said it can depend on what you eat as well. Frothyness is a good indicator that it is foremilk caused. If you are worried you could talk to a lactation specialist or your doctor to help you decide what type of feeding plan would be best for your LO as all babies are different.

Good luck. It is a problem that can be easily corrected. I have forceful letdown to go with my oversupply too... which leads to angry baby when he is suddenly pressure sprayed by my milk. Who knew that breastfeeding would be so fun?

What to Expect has thousands of open discussions happening each day. We work hard to share our most timely and active conversations with you.Archived discussions are usually a bit older and not as active as other community content.We keep them up because there are a ton of great conversations here and we believe you deserve to see them all.